Means for aerating water



March 4, 1958 B..MOLL ETAL 2,825,541

MEANS FOR AERATING WATER Filed D90. 9. 1953 3 Shee'ts-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. BERNHARD MOL L, OTTO IGQIEGBAUM, ALBERT QIEM I 5' ATTUIiNEYS' March 4, 1958 B. MOLL ETA]. ,8

MEANS FOR AERATING WATER Filed Dec. 9. 1953 s Sheets-Sheet 2 j-I- iZg u- 46 fi 4/ 3a 40 4 7 48 w INVENTORS. BERNHARD MOLL, OTTO KR/EGBAUM, ALBERT DIEM By" I m; 2 HORNE) March 4, 1958 B. MOLL ETAL 2,825,541

MEANS FOR AERATING WATER I Filed Dec: 9. 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 |I|||I|l IIIIIIIIII I'IIIIIII INVENTORS Baku/MR0 MOLL 071-0 KR/EGEAUM! ALBERT DIEM THE ll? ATTORNEY ilnited States Patent PHEANS FOR AERATING WATER Bernhard Moll, Wesseling, Gtto Krieghhaum, Furth, and

Albert Diem, Erlangen, Germany, assignors of onethird to Union 'Rheinische Braunkohlen Kraftstotf Aktiengesellschaft, Wesseling, Germany, a corporation of Germany, one-third to said Krieghbaum and onethird to said Diem Apsnsaaea December 9, 1953, Serial No; 397,108

Claims priority, application Germany December 16, 1&52 V

6 Claims. (Cl; 261-29) The present invention relatesto' methods and means for aerating water of lakes, ponds, rivers and other watercourses and has for its particular object the provision of an economic method and means for supplying gaseous substances, such as air and oxygen, to Water. The Water of a great many watercourses and lakes is in anfunnatural state due to interferences by human beings, for instance by the discharge of non-clarified liquid efl luents from industrial plants and the building'of dainsteps. The contaminations or pollutions deplete the oxygencontent of water, especially in deep layers, and accumulate into sediments consisting of organic sludges whichimpart objectionable tastes and odors to the Water inthej anaerobic decomposition. Forinstance, the oxygenfcontent of some lower layers of water of the Lake of Zprich (Switzerland), which has been "investigated especi'ally carefully, is below the minimum required for givingisu'sitenance to fish life. This oxygen-poor zone progres'sively extends to higher-layers of 'the'lake so that the water, which is taken at, present fordrinking purposes fromj a 'depth of about 40 meters and is of suitable quality for human beings to drink, may cause health hazards some day. The water of other lakes, forinstan ce the lake of Ploen (Germany), which has no great depth, was

found to be. also low in oxygen. Furthermore abundant quantities'of sludge consisting of organic matter were ascertained as sediments in front of the dam steps in the Neckar and Main (tributaries to the Rhine) some years after these dam steps had be'enbuilt. Because of the low velocity of the flowing water this sludge'is not carried away, not even in flood periods, thus giving rise to noxiousodors, especially at summer temperatures, and causing fish to depart for cleaner waters. These nuisauces can be prevented or at least reduced by supplying to the water appropriate quantities of oxygen causing 'the decay of organic matter. Such decay yields nutrition forlowerliving matter and, indirectly, for the fish, the lakes andrwate'rcourses recovering thereby their original state'of health; Because of the higher specific'gravity of water at lower temperatures the bottomand the lower layers of stagnant waters are colder than the upper layers. The Water at and near the surface takes its oxygen ldemand from the atmospheric air--this ;okygen absorption is favored by wind and wave actiori -whereas th'lower layers are scarcely supplied with oxygen; oxygen content of the lower layers of water' isfurther reduced by' the decayor organic matters sinking down from the upperlayers. At the beginning-of winter, when the upper layers are chilled to a temperature" near the freezing point, they become heavier than the lower, (now warmer) layers, thus causing verticalwater' movements, that means the: water at and near the surface, which is high in dissolved oxygen, sinks down'while the oxygen poor water rises up from the depth; Such supply with oaygenoccurring'but once a year,howevenisquite inadequate 'in lakes having to'digest'abundant quantitiesof' organicmatter;

Many attempts have been made to remedy the above said'obnoxious conditions and to render lakes and water courses again suitable for aquatic life and safe as sourcesof potable'water for human use.

It has'been proposed, for instance, to aerate surface waters by circulation by means of appropriate impellers. This method, however, does not prevent the cold and heavy water, which is elevated from the depth, from sinking again down immediately. Another method of supplying atmospheric oxygen to water in lakes and watercourses is carried out by drawing in the water and spraying it about in the atmosphere. This method,how-j ever, is not economic since it requires performance with a high-pressure pump. Finally, it has been proposed to supply compressed air to the bottom of lakes. Also this method requires a considerable consumption of energy since," for instance in the case of the Lake of Zurich, air must be injected under a pressure of about 10 or more atmospheres. Furthermore, the oxygen absorption achieved with aerators adapted for the latter method is mostly insufiicient. V

A'good aerating effect can be obtained for instance by means of aerators comprising appropriately shaped bodies containing or consisting of ceramic material, through which air is 'passedinto water in very fine, small bubbles, thus offering a large surface for the gas exchange. This kind of aerator reaches its maximum efliciency and highest economy by passing water 'overthem in a'thin film and passing air through them under slight pressure; Theoperation of aerators of this type, which are arranged and positioned on land, allows of air-conditioning only the water close to the banks of a river or to the edge of a lake so tliata large number of aerators, though of a small size, are required to obtain good results In'accordance with the invention the aforesaid disadvantages can be avoided by arranging and positioning at least one aerator, for instance of the aforedescribed type, on or inside a locomotive floating body, for instance a ship. Furthermore, the aerators may be arranged on the outer hull plating of a ship and also between two ships. The aerators are preferably, placed in appropriately constructed container-means, for instance basins ortanks, having an inlet through which the water under treatment entersand an outlet through which the water is discharged after aeration. Due to its freedom to move 7 from place to place the ship can 'be located on lakes and watercourses 'wherever'it is desired; it can reach every dam step bypassing through sluices. According to the invention the ship may be equipped with long suction pipes, through which water can be taken from any desired depth, and discharge (pressure) pipes. Due to the static pressure weighing on deep water, the Water can be elevated by merely overcoming the frictional resistance; moreover, water can be caused to flow over or through the ae'ratorsby maintaining the water in the container means continuously at a'lower level than the water in the lake or watercourse. The aerated water can be discharged through the discharge (pressure) pipe into any'desired depth of the lake or watercourse, preferably after giving due consideration to the temperature or the specific gravity of the'water. The ship, which may be equipped with a driving engineonmQtor, can be directed to any desired place and adjusted in proper relation to the depth of water by shortenin'gor extending the feed and discharge pipes, which aredesigned for instance like a telescope;

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdiagrammatic drawings which are sec- Patented Mar, 4, 1958 frnerit'iof fthej'inven'tion wherein the intake andLLdischarge pipes extend through-the bottom of the ship; and

' of the invention wherein the aeration means are' susof a sixt embodiment of the invention wherein the aera tion means are provided alongside the'ship.

i. the watert The aerating'efiectiis increased' by mounting: T

. hafilefplate's the Water *can be led in co-current, counter current, cross current or in a combination" of various f directions of current in relation to the position aridiar "*ran'gement of the aerator's, with a View to cause a mix-j f ing of water and air as intimate asjpossible, to prolong V at v'eryi short intervals.

' Figl' lj is a"diagrammatie view of one embodiment of a the. invention in operation wherein the intake andjdi's charge pipes extend into thehull of the ship; 7

Fig. 2' ist'a' diagrammatic view of a second embodi-t pipes are arranged'outside the hhll'offtheship; I

"'Fig. S' is a diagrammatic view of a third embodi- I mentiof the invention wherein the intake and discharge I Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a fourth embodiment '10 'of the invention wherein the hull of the ship is provided 'with'a funnel-shaped intake positioned below the level of the surface of the Water." 7 l 1 p 7 Fig; 5' is a diagrammatic view of a fifth embodiment pended between'twoships'. a a V -Pigs; 6 and 6a are 'side'and rear diagrammatic views 1 Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary,elevational viewof a siphon pipe arrangement such as shown in Fig. 3.

' Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view ofza seventh embodiment; of the invention wherein the pump is provided underwater. 1 7 a J In ig.1 of the drawing, reference numeral 1'.indicates' a ship provided with the usual ship-driving mech- The intake 2 can "be ele t '6, which extends through the ships skin in a tight' man er, This pipe 6 is connected through a valve]! and apurnp 3, to a-tankBin the ship. The piping 2 andfl canrbe tightly shut oil by means of the slide'valve 7 piovid'eci insidelthe ship between the flexible tube 4 and the pump 8. "in the ship -withinthe watertight'tank 9,

are positioned a pluralitylof aerators ltllcornprisingappropriately shaped bodies containing or consisting of material lof preferably great porosityJor' instance ceramic material). A blower il introduces air into" these aerat tors throughthepiping 12; The tank'9 may be de-- signed in variousmanners. 7 it f The most simple apparatus for carrying outfithe herein described aeratingproce'ss comprises a plate; 'the'bottom of which is covered or partly coveredwith at least-one aerator. W ater' is caused to l fiowthrough said plate,

' lengthwise and air is'-'passegi"through said aerator into} ,in said plate bathe plates which are positioned and ar Zrangecl so that an upwardly widening space is, formed V 'abeve each aerator; V The water isfledfthrough these "spaces: wherein the air can bubble up without -touchingi the surfaces of the bafiie plates or' the side' walls; of the plate. By varyingfthe arrangementlof theaeratorsand};

the time of 'co'ntact and to preventthe ifine-gasbubbles from uniting toformjbubbles of larger diameter, which would reduce the active; surface of jthe ;air.; Another f Ineans toprevent the. small gas buhbles from, uniting into 7 larger bubhles'consists in periodically interrupting-the airf lcurrentifor a short time, for instancehy'supplyinggor V Q hlestnp steadilytvhen introduced*continuously+isdivided tinje'cting airi intermittently;whereby the air- -lwhieh bub-' inte 'single,z"distinctlyvisible zones which donotunite" diiringithefrr npwardl movement; 'The' s'amerresultiisr obtained bycausingth'aefatois 3 to move up and down tion' can he acc omplished for instance. by" introducinglo intake is e,1ow t Water fl eliih f k; ndfl cha ge lh wa pf e ta h'w chis ata h gheril 60 than the water'jn the lake hy meansof Ysiphoniarrange merit; Ihefoperationfof the siphonis i b a y c umpr ducer 9..i lhet a t a 1 msayvals olb'e imaintained lbel w the llevel 'of the V water' in the; lake or1watercourse; In this caset hfdirections 0ft vadv nt ge s e jsn all amounts of g aseous ubembodiment 7 showni in ,Figf'l but p Y 3 of gases other than oxygen; for instance hydrogen sulfide 3 l The tank 9 may also be designed in the form 'offa tube andfair maybe introduced into the; water under 7 treatment through the pump 8. The tank 9 has an outlet pipe 13,1 which; (as the: mamas Ztightly passed J through the ships skin and provided with a shutofl'device 14 and discharges the water saturated [with atrnospherie oxygen through the flexible tube 15 and the V pipe 16into any desired depth of the lake or watercourse,

The discharge pipe l6 can be 'b rought'to its proper posi tion by means of the hoisting apparatus 17.;' s

r The intake and the discharge pipe may be suspended f I '7 'to lighters, boats; rafts; pontoons or other. floating hodies -V if the water is tobe drawn in or'discharged fartheriaway; ;The arrangement of'a discharge pipe may eventually 15' be dispensed with since water} which is lifted fromg deep layers, is colderthanvthe waterin the upper layers. and, 7 therefore, shows the tendency to'sink again to the-hote tom of the lake or watercourse after aeration andissuing from the container; means.

' The'afore described arrangement allows pf, discharging the water after aeration into the depth of theylakeflort watercoursewhere it is mostefficacious 'for the, biological 7 decay of the contaminations orpollutionsJThe:decomq r j from plants, for the structure of new organic matteriwhichf V V 7 requires als o oxygen joni 'decayingi; 'It;may,' therefore, t bedesired to continuously remove ciarbon non; the cycle": of aquatic life; in; lakes andjwatercoursesa; Decarbonizathe water quicklime, which; dissolves in water and yields, '7 calcium carbonate withgthe carbon dioxide produccdinf p; the decomposition Of Organic ;matter.' This" mineraliza-j' V i tion eliminates thecarbon dioxide produ'cedinithe cyclel' of organic'lifejn waters. A 1 a V In the' en hodimenLshown inrFig. l, }the water inithe tank 9 is at a higher "level thanjthe jwater-in the lake. 1

the scope of the invention tofrnaintain the water inthe a tank '9 "below thejlev'l oflth'e twaterfint the lake.) Inl the latter ecase,, wa1e1f flows intotthertankr through the V Pip J it dutany penditure 'ol' energy andthe lwater l inlithetank i skep r elow 'the' level flftheilakef by meanstoffa ;purnp}8"which discharges the. aerated" waterjnto the lakeionwatercourse through the c epipe-M: I; t e j The tight passages throu h thefships'skin are ren ered pe fl pus by pb io ing and, operating: the Pump 2 texternallygtas showniinQFig. 2 );f whereinthe,r intake rte by me s" the tank 5 18 offflow: in 'the'PiPQsHf-"and 20 are interchangedjiwater; 1 is siphoned throughfthe ipipe" 2t} 'into the; tank 18 g n trans ferr'edi overhoard throughfthe pipe 17s'fh y jthe action oi thejpunip 21.5 This embodiment may-i sometimes 1 staneesare drawn ofif from th water during thehpwai-d pull caused by"thejvacnunifflThis'lis undesirediasiar as-oxygenlis'iconcerned(described ith reference't the" si d i i 1th ase; 1

It is preferable to provide the ship with a source of energy, for instance a dynamo operated by steam or diesel, to drive the pump and the blower.

Fig. 3 shows another embodiment of the invention. The-hull of the ship 22 has two vertical passages 23 and '24 surrounded by watertight walls. In one of these passages a telescopic pipe 25 is suspended by a pulley block (or jack) 26. The intake 25 can be shut oii by the-slide valve 271 The pump 28 draws in water through the intake 25 and the flexible tube 4 and conveys it into the tank 39 where it is aerated by means of the aerators 31. The-aerators '31 are supplied with air from the blower 32 through the-piping 33. The water in the tank 30 is at a higher level than the water in the lake or river so that it can flow otf freely from the tank 30 through the discharge pipe 34 by means of the siphon 35. The discharge tube 34, which is provided with the shutoff device 36, is comprised of two telescopic sections and suspended by the crane 37. This arrangement permits the discharge of the freshly aerated water into any desired depth of the lake or watercourse.

Steel pipes, also when constructed as a telescope, are heavy and expensive and liable to damages; furthermore, they may cause interference with the navigation of the ship in lakes and watercourses of great depths and high streaming velocities. These disadvantages can be avoided by the use of flexible tubes, for instance fire hoses. In this case the discharge tube is kept wellrounded by the water flowing off and the intake is rounded by the incoming water, which is drawn in by the action of a submerged pump arranged at the lower end of the intake, instead of the pump as shown. The submerged pump, the motor of which works below the water level, is suspended by the pulley block (or jack) 3 and connected with the dynamo positioned on the ship by an electrical cable. A slight porosity of the tubes will involve only small losses of water, which are negligible, as it is the case with hoses, but will not prevent the successful air-conditioning of water by the herein described methods.

The arrangement of a pump can be dispensed with in the aeration of a stream or a navigabl river with an appropriate velocity of flow. In this case, the embodiment shown, or similar to that shown, in Fig. 4 will be suitable. In Fig. 4, the ship 38, which is anchored, has at one end, below the Water line, a funnel shaped intake 39 which opens into the tank as and can be shut sit by means of the slide valve 41. The blower 42 introduces compressed air through the piping 43 into the aerators 44 arranged in the tank 40. The aerated water issues from the tank through the discharge pipe 45. The pipe 45 can be tightly shut oh? by means of the slide valve 46 and is tightly set in the skin of the ship. If required, the pipe 45 can be connected to an eXtension pipe 47 via a flexible tube 48 to discharge the aerated water into deep layers of the lake or river. It is, of course, also possible to connect a pipe to the intake 39 (e. g. a telescopic pipe) which allows of lifting water from the bottom and the deepest layers of the lake or river. The blower 42 can be operated on the ship by a self-contained source of energy but the current of a stream or river can also be utilized for this purpose; in the latter case, the ship is equipped with water wheels like ship mills.

Another very simple embodiment of the invention is .shown in Fig. and consists in mounting aerators 49 between two floating bodies or ships 5% and 51 below the water level of the lake or watercourse. A blower may be positioned on one of these floating bodies or on a bridge connecting the floating bodies with one another. Furthermore, aerators 52 may be fastened to the outer hull plating of the floating bodies by means of a tank 53 mounted on girders 54 suspended between the two ships. The pump 55 is mounted on ship 50 while the blower 56 is mounted on ship 51. The arrangement according 6 to thisernbodimen't' may also be connected withthe land or a bridge so that the air=or theenergy required for producing airis-sup'pli'ednames-dr land In Figs. 6 and 6rzthre is shown-an arrangement wherein the aeration apparatus "is provided ou'ts'ide-the ship and adjacent-one of its sides. In this embodiment, the aerators 57 are mounted on a support 52 which -is connected to the side ofthe ship by connecting means 66. The blower '61 isprovidedon board the ship;

When using this type of apparatus, the ship isanchored in flowing water, and as the water flows by, itis aerated: If the water does not flow, as in a lake, the ship itself must be moved.

In Fig. 7 there is shown, in greater detail, a siphon device, such as shown in Fig. 3, wherein the outlet pipe as leading from the tank is provided with a connecting tube 63 which may be coupled to a vacuum pump, not shown. In such case, the pipe 64, extending upwardly from the water and connected to the outlet 62 through flexible hose 65 and valve 66, would receive the aerated water as a result of the siphoning action which would lift it through pipe 62 from the tank.

in Fig. 8, there is shown a device somewhat similar to that of Fig. 3 in that it comprises a ship 67 having vertical passages 68 and 69 through which telescopic pipes 79 and 71 extend, a center tank 72 in the ship, aerators 73 in the tank and a blower 7 5 above the tank for supplying compressed air to the aerators. However, instead of having the pump on the ship, as in Fig. 3, there is provided an underwater pump 75 driven by an underwater motor 76.

It may be of advantage to subject water taken from the lower layers or layers substantially near the bottom of a lake or watercourse t0 the hereinbefore described aeration treatment since such water is colder and heavier than the water of the upper layers and, therefore, can easiiy be returned after aeration to the lower layers or to the bottom of the lake or watercourse and, above all, will not tend to move up with its dissolved oxygen content.

Apart from the herein described air treatment methods by means of aerators of ceramic material, which have proved to be highly eflicacious, the gasification of water may also be carried out by other means usually applied in the aeration of waste water, for instance scoop wheels, spraying devices, Kessener brushes and like equipments.

The aeration of lake water, which is rich in organic matters, according to the invention is more economic than the collection of Waste Waters on land and their treatment in waste water purifying plants specifically built for this purpose. The herein described methods and means allow of obtaining equally good results at essentially lower cost.

We claim:

1. A device for aerating a body of water comprising a fioatable body, a tank in said floatable body, inlet and outlet means positioned on and movable with said body, said inlet and outlet means being connected to said tank and extending below said floatable body, to a predetermined position relative to said floatable body when said fioatable body floats, means for passing water from said inlet, through said tank, and through said outlet, and

aerating means in said tank, said aerating means beingconnected to a source of air and being positioned to pass air, in fine subdivision, from said source of air into the tank in the path of flow from said inlet to said outlet means.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said means for passing water comprises a pump, and wherein said aerating means is constructed to pass the air therefrom under pressure.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said inlet and outlet 1 .eans comprise a plurality of relatively telescoping tubes which are adjustable for increasing or decreasing the lengths of the inlet and outlet means.

V4; The'device of claim l wherein a siphon means is provided for discharging the Vaerated water; from said tank, and wherein a vacuum producing'mea ns is pro:

vided for initiating the operation of the siphon means; r f

5. The device of clairn l wherein a pump is provided for discharging the aerated water through theoutletf means.

' 6; The device of claim 1 wherein a hump, fositioned outside said floatabl bogiy and adapted to 'be positioned below the surface of the body of Water, is connected to the inlet means.

7 References Cited inith'e V UNITED STATES PATENT 370,016 a.

Hyatt 7 Ball Oct. 31;," DHYIS Oct; -'16',

UIFOREIGN. PATENTS;

Wang- May 9, Couch lune 23,]1936 :Wiedenhoefer H. '3Sept .,21-,' 1943 rTyler i. i July 3, 1945' 

